Soo... that was a fail...

   It is now Saturday, and I've had AP exams that crowded up so much of my time that I didn't even get to make a plan to try to incorporate piano into my schedule. I am sad to say that I have not worked on much or any WISE this week, except on Thursday, when I didn't have an AP exam (I have 6 exams this year, technically you're only allowed to take 5 in total, but Physics C has 2 parts, so it  counts as 2 exams). On Monday, I have my Physics C AP, so I won't be able to make it to my mentor meeting, and I'm hoping to fit some time in for practice tomorrow. This really sucks, the fact that I haven't done any WISE work. I had really hoped to manage my time and make ends meet, but I ran out of time even just to do that. I wish I had realized this earlier, and maybe planned my schedule for AP week ahead of time, WAYY ahead of time. I'm honestly pretty disappointed in myself for being so uncommitted. What a fail... it's the end of the year and I don't have long before I have to present a final project. I really need to get my act together.

Sunday's Reflection && new goals

For: last Sunday
Last week's goals said:

1. Ask Julianna to critique.
2. Look through all past journal posts and REMEMBER WHAT YOU SAID YOU'D UPDATE (speaking to me)
3. Try to journal as soon as things happen, if possible (ie. right after a mentor meeting or right after practice)
4. Use this week as a last week for Canon in D, practicing and "perfecting" (? possibly ?)
5.  Brainstorm a bit more about end project ideas.
6. Research on history of the piano.
7. Contact Yuangting Li, a Chinese girl at IHS who gives piano lessons, for some help in trying to work on Fireflies?

   Yepp, I finally did it. On Saturday, I asked Julianna to sit down with me for a bit while I played. It was definitely awkward because for me, it was weird having someone younger act as a teacher, and for her, it was weird being the "older sibling" or the "more experienced" one. My sister commented on my fluidity and also told me that I was speeding up a lot in certain areas where I shouldn't have been. At first I had a lot of trouble pulling words from her, but soon it worked out okay. According to Julianna, I had to look at my fingers a lot more than the music, which could be an issue as I'm not supposed to focus on my fingers, but the notes on the sheet. She also told me that my fingering was also wrong in the last section, but that wasn't too big of a deal. This was actually a funny story because my little sister could not make herself 'critique' me until I offered her a bribe (Reese's cups, yumm). 
   In terms of my other goals, I am slightly lacking, as can been seen in the recent couple of days, so I will be extending this goal period for a while to fulfill these goals, (especially 2,3,5,6). I did get to contact Yuanting and will post a short interview at some point in time!

Just a note...

  SO... a lot has been going on in my life lately. Aside from just the regular loads of  homework and projects and online courses and such, I've also been having some issues, some relating to family, that have been interfering with my entire life. There have been some really sudden changes this past week that might seem like they came out of nowhere. First, although I had originally planned to try to work towards an ending in my piano lessons, last Monday, I realized that I had to start Track, which is everyday after school until 6pm. Mrs. Miller has no other times available for me and I can't miss Track practice once every week, so I talked to Mrs. Miller and we came to the agreement that I would be stopping classes for now. I still have two other classes that I've paid for that I could come in and take in the future when we both have time (something could be worked out). Mrs. Miller is allowing me to keep the piano books that I've been using because I could always return them to her through my sister Julianna. Another thing is the Saturday morning class. I was originally hoping to make it to the class and to play the Black Swan and Hamster Chase, but I started Track on Wednesday, and practice is every day of the week except Sundays. This means that I have to be there for practice on Saturday mornings as well, and the time, unfortunately, overlaps the hours of the Saturday class. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to figure everything out, but as of now, everything seems to be in a mess. I really hope everything will work out. I don't think I've progressed very much this past week, and I've been sorta skimping on the piano practice because I've been going straight to Cornell to do my homework everyday after Track practice (I don't have a ride home until about 10pm). This makes it so that I have trouble getting in all my practice time. Ahhhh everything's crazyyy.

Wait A Minute... What?

   In response to my previous entry on mentor meeting plans, I've found some answers while some other questions were left blank. With the continuing lessons thing, I've decided to stick with taking lessons for another month and seeing how it goes. Everything else could pretty much be answered with "it really depends on you" (me).

   After my fourth piano class, it was recognized that I still honestly don't know how to read sheet music because I have a lot of trouble recognizing the notes on the staff and knowing what they are. So for this week, that's going to be my focus.

    Another thing is the pedal. I have no idea how to use it, and while Mrs. Miller and I were exploring the pedal on Monday, it was found that I really need practice with it. Since I only have an electric piano at home, I plan to use the school pianos especially for this type of practice. The song "Black Swan" is absolutely perfect on which to practice the pedaling.

Lesson & A List of Recommended Pieces

FOR:  Friday, February 25th, 2011

   I forgot to practice today, but I did make up for it on Saturday... just saying.

   Something else I forgot was the fact that Mrs. Miller said I could pick out a piece to learn now! Anything, anything at all! Should I try Fantasie Impromptu? I mean just listen to it, it's crazy beautiful... 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvm2ZsRv3C8

...but also crazy impossible? I mean some of the really hard pieces that I've already learned how to play (by ear/memorizing fingerings) are Beethoven's Fur Elise, Brahms' Hungarian Dance, and Mozart's Turkish March. But those were by memorization, which is by far, much easier than reading sheet music.

Here's something I found on Google that I thought might be useful in the future...
a list of recommended classical pieces!

  Andd... also I kind of made a list for modern songs even though in one of the other posts, I said I wouldn't make one. I only have one title on my list right now, and that's Owl City's Fireflies. 

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amm7Do0ySkU

   The piano version is really really pretty sounding. If two days, I'll probably just pick something off this list instead of going with the first song I hear on the radio (most likely this song?). 

Repertoire && Taylor Swift

   I remember when Mrs. Miller first said this word, and I had no idea what it meant. When I looked it up, it said that it means "[a] list of dramas, operas, parts, pieces, etc., which a company, actor, singer or the like, is prepared to perform [or a]ll the works of a particular kind considered collectively".

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_repertoire#ixzz1DuLW5LyU

   I was assigned four repertoire pieces to play. Some of them are actually kind of hard. I spent half an hour just learning the notes and the rhythm to the first one. I guess maybe I need to spend more time on that? Yes, that's good.
   Anyways, my piano practicing hasn't been very well received by my parents. My dad usually enjoys listening to us practice, but he doesn't think I'm playing piano when I practice the repertoire pieces, because I mess up so much that it doesn't sound like anything. Aside from repertoire, I also have several rhythm drills that I have to do. It's like a score of beats that you tap to or something... so at the dinner table, I'll be like, tapping away, and my entire family just looks at me as if I'm from another country. Haha.
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   I've been sorta looking through current songs for ones I like that I could learn to play, and I realized that I like so many so them that I don't know how I'm going to be able to just choose one. Being indecisive as I am, does that mean a new challenge? I mean, I stumbled onto my little sister's albums of Taylor Swift, and I think most, if not all of them, would work for a piano cover. Plus, they all seem fairly simple to learn as well, so I don't know... they're really easy to get stuck in my head.